New Solara Review

[Prophet]

I just want to ask before ya'll read this...Do any of these reviewers actually drive the vehicle? Anyway, here's the link:


http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/weekinwheels/ny-tom3617174jan09,0,1016618.column?coll=ny-weekinwheels-headlines

Seems like every review of the Solara just draws from the same batch of catch phrases...big butt, acceleration is adequate, steering is soft etc.[/url]

[fotodad]

Thanks for the link. This is the first negative (maybe a bit too heavy of a word to use) review I've seen on the 04 Solara. It seems to me most of the complaints the reviewer had with the car were subjective, i.e. styling, handling, comfort, etc. But then he has the audacity to compare the Solara to some domestic models. Please! Has he never heard of dependability, reliability, resale value?

I do agree with him on the feel of the steering. I wish the steering talkied a little more to the driver. It is a bit numb.

Other than that, I'm lovin' my Solara!

[got sport]

I rarely rely on reviews, maybe the Consumer Guide. The best review is your own: test driving it, researching the specs, etc.

[theflow]

That's the worst review I have ever seen.

Like fotodad said, styling is subjective and I think the Solara is 100X better than the Accord coupe. This guy said the Solara styling is bland. Give me a break.

Also, the model that he tested is the SLE, which emphasis on comfort and luxurious. And he complained about the cabin is too quiet and the steering sucks?? What the heck was he smoking. Go test drive the sport version.

$26K to get a base model C230??? $31K to get a BMW with only 184hp and ugly interior??? $30K for a G35 without even the Navigation???? I paid $27.3K for a fully loaded SLE. He must be out of his mind.

The damn pictures in that review is not even a Solara and I wonder who the heck will buy his car review.

[Shoe]

<---HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN

if so give his head a shake for me.

1st off DOOD YOUR way too old you should be doing reviews on buick centuries and chev impalas.

Four-cylinder models run on regular gas; V-6 models prefer premium and get 4 miles per gallon less in city and highway driving or 20 and 29 mpg, respectively

UMM WHO TOLD YOU THIS? NO ONE AT TOYOTA TOLD ME THIS NOR DOES THE MANUAL.

One might call the Mustang's styling dated as well

AS WELL AS WELL AS WHAT THE SOLARA? GOOD LORD MAN HOW MANY CARS DO YOU SEE ON THE ROAD THAT LOOK LIKE THE SOLARA? youd thing we were driving boxy but good volvos around here.

SLE V-6 starts at $26,510 with freight.

Stretch to $31,000 and you're in a BMW 325 coupe, with a 184-hp. six-cylinder engine.

Stretch to $34,000 and Pontiac's new Australian built GTO becomes a contender, as does the Audi TT Coupe.

THATS A LONG STRETCH 26 - 34 IS AN 8000 DIFFERENCE I dont know about you but i like to keep my comparison a little tighter than that.

heres his email

tom.incantalupo@newsday.com

lets send him some links to toyota solara web pages seeing as he likes them so much lol

shoe

[slingshot]

Here is what I wrote to him:

Tom,
I was very disappointed in your January 9 review of the 2004 Toyota Solara SLE. First of all, the photo in your article is of a 4-door Toyota Camry and not of the new Solara! Are you sure which model you were driving? The four-door does indeed have bland styling but the new Solara certainly doesn’t. Every other car magazine review says the styling is more aggressive than the last Solara. Some don’t like the rear but generally it has gotten great reviews overall for both styling and performance.

Your price comparisons with other cars were comparing apples and oranges. The prices you quoted were for a Solara that was pretty well loaded with prices for other cars that had less features. For example, the G35 price you quoted comes stripped with zero options as does that underpowered and slower (40hp lower than Solara) BMW 325 coupe for 31K. If you want to make accurate price comparisons, you have to at the very least add in options and features to bring them up to fair comparison levels. That is how real car reviews are done. What you would find out is that the costs would be significantly greater than what you wrote. I certainly hope when you buy a car and compare prices, you do it the way I’m suggesting.

I’m pleased and surprised that you even compared the Solara with the G35 coupe which is a totally sport-oriented design. When I was car shopping and comparing the two, I found that I would have had to pay $10,000 more for equivalent features. That’s the real world. So the Solara is a bargain. The only real direct competitor is the Accord Coupe. I found the bang for the buck better with the Solara. Equipping the Accord with everything the Solara had put it a couple thousand dollars more.

I do agree that the steering is a bit unresponsive and the car is quiet and not a ‘true” sports coupe but if you wanted to see the “sporty” side of it, you really should have tested the SE Sport version. Besides, Toyota’s TRD division(Toyota Racing Development) already has performance upgrades available for the new Solara that are not too high-priced. I thoroughly enjoy my SLE and it is light-years better than the previous Solara. In addition, Toyota was aggressively selling it for much less than MSRP price even though it is the first year out. I actually got mine at dealer cost back in October.

[Shoe]

hey Slingshot in your letter you forgot to say "blow me" and "get a life"

[slingshot]

True, but I did rank on him and make him look totally silly. Let's see if and how he responds.

[{-_-}]

Here is another not so positive review.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... 4Jan9.html

At least he alluded that being in the Audi RS6 somewhat affected his opinion on the solara.

[slingshot]

Here is another not so positive review.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... 4Jan9.html

At least he alluded that being in the Audi RS6 somewhat affected his opinion on the solara.

Man, that was one pathetic review. The whole thing was complaining about giving up an $84,000 car. In no way was this an objective car review. I've never seen something so bad and they should can that guy.

[cdssolara]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I wouldn't get too upset over a couple of less than complimentary reviews. These are somewhat similar to some of the reviews that came out after the original Solara was introduced; "Nice car, but kind of bland." The bottom line is that you bought the car for certain reasons, and the criteria you used was probably not the same as what the reviewer is using.

[jmack]

Good lord. What the heck was that Washington Post article? It certainly was not a review. Gee, the Solara is not an RS6, what a surprise. Regarding the Incantalpo article, while it was not a glowing review, I didn't think it was all that negative. The steering is numb. Styling is in eyes of beholder. I like the look of the car, though more from the front than the rear. I always get compliments on the car, and there are not that many on the road, compared to regular Camrys and Accords (even coupes).

It is always odd to me the cars that the Solara is compared with. I got my 04 SLE V6 w/ 3 in one stereo, side curtain bags, VSC etc. for $25,200. One of the reasons I got the car was that the seats were so comfortable. It seemed to me that the Solara was about 90% of the ES330 at about 70% of the price. I was surprised that the Newsday article seems to think that you can actually pick up a Mercedes for $26K. I looked at the G35 and believe me, I would have bought one at $29K. Dealers were asking $36K and leases were around $600, you pay the tax. I drove a BMW 325 and was not that impressed. I liked the 330 but did not have 40K to spend. Same with AudiA4s They may start out at 26K, but just try to find one for that price. "Stretch to $34K" and you are almost 9 grand over my car. That is a long stretch. If I had $34K or more to spend, I might have purchased a different car. The Solara was the most comfortable, reliable, reasonably fast and attractive car that I could get for my $25K, so I bought it. The 1.9 financing was also a decision maker.

[kubi]

Heh, the Washington Post one is gone. Didn't get a chance to read it, but apparently you're not the only ones who think it's bad.

[slingshot]

JMACK,
I couldn't have said it better myself. Please send what you wrote here to the Newsday editor at his email. Newsday is my newspaper and the audience is HUGE for this paper as it is the Long Island, NY paper.

[slingshot]

Tom's reply:
An editor used the wrong photo from the Toyota disc I gave him; we printed the right one as a correction Saturday.
The prices quoted for competing models were clearly not on a comparably equipped basis. The point is that, for a better car, it might be worthwhile to forgo some of the extras. I'm glad you like your car but I have to call them as I see them.

My reply back:
Tom,
Thanks for responding so quickly. The fact that prices that were quoted were not on a comparably equipped basis was not at all clear to the reading public who are not familiar with every price of a car these days. Besides, it makes no logical sense to not compare similarly equipped cars. Like I said, every other car review I have read in car enthusiast magazines always uses equivalent extras in cars when comparing prices of different car models. That is the only fair comparison. Otherwise you could have stated prices for the SE V6 stripped down version of the Solara to compare it with the stripped down prices you had for the other cars.
Also, I'd like to see you get a G35 for the price you quoted. Good luck since most of them come pretty loaded. I doubt many people who buy "better" cars such as G35, BMW, etc get stripped down entry price models. Sales figures show otherwise. Again, I'm impressed you chose such cars to compare against since they are clearly not on the same level.
One car I'm surprised you didn't compare it to was the Lexus ES330. That car has the same exact engine and transmission with two extra doors and some more standard luxury features. Basically, the Toyota Solara SLE is 90% of the Lexus at only 70% of the price. Now that's a deal alright!
David